Thursday, July 05, 2007

One Too Many Interview Questions

What are the worst questions for a job applicant to ask in a job interview?
I'm sure that many of you have your own lists, but here's mine:
  1. Do you ever press charges?

No, wait. That's Jack Handey's. Here are the ones that I've witnessed or heard about:

  1. How much vacation and sick leave do you give? [This person isn't hired and is already thinking about leave!]

  2. Will there be a lot of pressure not to make mistakes? [Naw. We welcome mistakes here.]

  3. Do you have a sabbatical program? [See 1. ]

  4. How strict is your dress policy? [I'm not sure but I sense it may need to be stricter.]

  5. Why haven't I heard about you all before? [I'll have our PR person get back with you on that.]

Any others?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would recommend discussing leave during negotiations though. Losing a few weeks should be worth something.

Michael Wade said...

If there is a serious negotiation in which both sides have roughly equal power, I think you're right. You may as well go for it.